Experimental winter coccidiosis in sheltered and unsheltered calves

Hereford calves, seven months old, were inoculated orally with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria bovis and E. zurnii and housed in a heated building together with uninoculated animals. Duplicate groups of similarly treated animals were left unsheltered in cold winter weather. Clinical coccidiosis developed in most of the inoculated calves, sheltered and unsheltered. There was no marked difference in the severity of the infections. The sheltered uninoculated contact animals remained clinically unaffected, but mild coccidiosis developed in the unsheltered controls. The results suggest that cold may increase the host's susceptibility to clinical coccidiosis, but may not increase the severity of the signs once the clinical infection is established.